ATKINS — The Lamar Warriors defeated the Red Devils 26-22 at Lemley Field on Friday night.

Atkins (5-3, 3-2 3A-4 Conference) played a tough game with eight starters out due to injuries. Ultimately, the Red Devils were unable to overcome the stiff Warrior (7-2, 5-1) defense, who stopped them four times in the red zone and twice inside the 5.

“These guys bow up when they get their backs against the wall,” Lamar head coach Josh Jones said of his defense. “They get the job done when they really need to. It’s just a testament to the resilience of these guys.”

Atkins drew first blood on its second possession, mostly on the quick legs of running back Malichi McDaniel. On the third play of the drive, McDaniel broke free to the Lamar 33. An offsides penalty enabled McDaniel to score from 15 yards out. Colby Johnston nailed the extra-point kick, and the Red Devils went up 7-0 with 6:51 left in the first quarter.

The Warriors answered in three plays. Quarterback Jordan Haas hit a wide-open Nathan Green for 65 yards and a touchdown. Haas added the PAT and tied the score, 7-7.

After Johnston missed a field goal attempt, Lamar scored on the third play of its next series. Justus Williams powered up the center of the field, turned on the speed and went 54 yards to the end zone. The PAT was good, and the Warriors led 14-7 with 10:22 left in the first half.

Once again, Atkins went the length of the field but was unable to score. Lamar’s Logan Yarbrough stopped the fourth-down attempt and took over at its 1.

But the Red Devils struck quickly on their next possession. Alex Spradlin hit Matthew Collins for 57 yards and a touchdown. The point-after kick went wide right, and the Warriors held on to a 14-13 margin with 2:08 left in the second quarter.

On the second play of Lamar’s next drive, Haas hit Ryan Jones for 44 yards to the Atkins 5. The Red Devils forced the Warriors to settle for a field goal and a 17-13 lead.

Alex Young returned the ensuing kickoff to the 47. With :11 seconds left on the clock, Spradlin connected with Mathew Collins at the Lamar 18. With three seconds remaining, the Red Devils took a time out and gave themselves one more chance to find the end zone. But an incomplete pass ended the first half.

The Warriors were stopped on a fourth-and-inches, fourth-down attempt, and Atkins took over at the Lamar 44. Coty Hegeman rushed for eight yards, but was stopped with no gain on the next down. On fourth down, Warriors Caleb Robinson and Tyler Metford came up with a big sack to stop the Red Devils.

But Lamar’s Williams fumbled on the next possession, and Atkins recovered. One play later, Spradlin connected with Collins for 59 yards and a touchdown. The 2-point conversion failed, but Atkins took a 19-17 lead with 6:37 left in the third quarter.

The Red Devils defense came alive when the Warriors took over at its 36. Haas was unable to throw a single time without feeling the defensive pressure — once getting the ball away only seconds before being hit hard in the backfield — and Lamar was forced to punt.

Haas went 46 yards on a quarterback keeper on the Warriors’ next possession. Williams picked up 10 yards in two plays, but a holding penalty brought the ball back to the 37. Haas picked up five on another quarterback keeper, and Dalton Blythe picked up the remaining five for the first down. The drive ran out of steam on the next series, but Haas nailed a 41-yard field goal to give Lamar a 20-19 edge with 1:35 to go in the third quarter.

McDaniel returned the kickoff 54 yards to the Warrior 37, but Atkins couldn’t score a touchdown. Colby Johntson was able to nail the field goal, and the Red Devils jumped ahead 22-20.

Lamar took over at its 33 and moved down the field with a series of runs by Williams and quarterback keepers by Haas to the Atkins 27. Haas was hit at the line of scrimmage on his next attempt. But Williams was able to get a first down in two plays at the 15. Haas capped the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Chenault, who made an amazing vertical jump to make the catch. The 2-point conversion was intercepted by Wendel Johnston, but Lamar led 26-22 with 4:05 left in the game.

A block in the back penalty against the Red Devils gave them possession at their 12. Spradlin picked up nine yards on the ground before hitting Duvall through the air for 35 yards. Spradlin hit Johnston for another 25 yards, but a holding penalty brought the ball back to the 46. The penalty ended up a wash, however, when a roughing the passer penalty moved the ball back to the Warriors 27.

Three plays later and with no yardage to show for it, Spradlin connected with Kyle McCabe to pick up the first down. But with :52 remaining and inside the 5, Spradlin was brought down in the backfield by Williams.

“I’m extremely proud of the way these kids played. When we were down by two, they moved the length of the field and got the score,” Jones said after the game. “The way Jalen Chenault jumped up and caught that pass at the end, well, you can’t say enough about that.”

Lamar will host Paris next week, while Atkins will travel to Danville.